Extreme overclock makes Nintendo Switch run most games at 60 FPS

Nintendo Switch may not have what it takes to compete against new gaming handhelds such as the Asus ROG Ally X (Z1 Extreme Ally curr. $549.99 on Best Buy). Its hardware, specifically the Nvidia Tegra X1 SoC, dates back to 2015, after all. But it can run a good number of games. Of course, not all of those titles run as smoothly as one would expect them to run.

However, with tweaks, the aging Nintendo Switch can handle most of the games at a buttery smooth 60 FPS. That’s pretty much what a YouTuber named naga has proved. The overclock applied to the gaming handheld is rather extreme, though, with the CPU overclocked to a maximum of 2703 MHz, GPU to 1497 MHz, and RAM to 3033 MHz.

Moreover, the YouTuber has upgraded the RAM of the Nintendo Switch to 8 GB. For reference, out of the box, the handheld sports 4 GB of RAM, with the CPU clocked at a maximum of 1900 MHz and the GPU clocked at a max of 1267 MHz. That said, with the extreme overclock in place, naga showcased many games running at a steady 60 FPS.

Some of the games the YouTuber showcased include Red Dead Redemption, GTA San Andreas, Monster Hunter Rise, and Assassin’s Creed Black Flag. Interestingly, even the extremely overclocked Nintendo Switch had trouble keeping Dragon Quest XI S above 30 FPS. But that is a pretty demanding game, to begin with.

Another thing that’s worth noting is that naga showed that the biggest boost is achieved through the RAM upgrade. This means the Nintendo Switch is mostly held back by the 4 GB RAM that it comes with. But this isn’t the only case, as the Xbox Series S also struggles with a good number of games due to having a lower amount of RAM. Hopefully, Nintendo has taken notes and will better equip its next-gen gaming handheld.